The Story of the One-eyed Demon
by Kidz
Summary: Mankind lived in fear from the Titans as they caged themselves in a wall. But after a temporary peace, the nightmare returned as an enormous Titan and an armored one destroyed the very things that kept mankind safe. Having lost everything, a red-haired boy decides to be a soldier. Will he end up as Titan fodder or will he help mankind achieve freedom?
1. Chapter 1

_It was the year 845. Mankind lived inside the safety of the walls for 100 years. The fear of being eaten by the monsters living outside was slowly being forgotten… until that fateful day._

* * *

Karmes Damon, an 11–year old boy living in Shiganshina District which was south of Wall Maria, was staring at the clouds. A cool gust of wind gently touched his face making it clear that he was living in peaceful times. The boy decided to go to town and looked around. Garrison soldiers were relaxing and drinking booze which made Karmes think that it was going to be another peaceful day.

But he was wrong. The ground shook and the birds flew away. Everyone around him were looking at something and he felt that if he looked too, his peaceful life would be shattered. But still, he looked. And he saw a giant red face staring down at them.

The wall that was protecting them was around 50 meters in height and yet there was a monster that was taller than it.

"A Titan!" a man screamed and ran.

Before anyone could react, a loud sound was heard as pieces of the wall flew. No one wanted to believe what they were seeing. A hole was formed in the wall.

But that wasn't enough. A small debris hit Karmes' left eye and made him fall down to the ground. He didn't have any time to register the pain because of what he saw. Giants known as Titans were entering the hole. Fear ran across the boy's body as he struggled to get up. His knees were weak as he was panicking to get up.

"Calm down!" a voice said to him and when he looked up, he saw a Garrison soldier.

The soldier helped him up. Blood dripped down Karmes' face and he was finally feeling cold.

"Run as fast as you can. We'll take it from here", the soldier said and charged.

Karmes ran towards the inner wall and was relieved to see his parents.

"Karmes! Thank goodness you're alright!" his mother said.

"Come on! We have to go!" his father shouted and grabbed Karmes' hand.

A loud rumbling sound was heard and when Karmes looked back, the inner gate was busted open by a Titan. The Titan had layers of armor-like skin making it different from all other Titans.

Karmes stared in disbelief as the thought of having Wall Maria being breached. Losing Wall Maria means losing at least 30% of the population. A strong force pushed Karmes away and made him fall to the ground. After that, he heard a loud crash.

When he looked at the site of the crash, he refused to accept reality. At the spot where his parents were, a huge debris was on it.

"No…"

Karmes clawed the debris and even tried lifting it. Even if he was a grown man, he couldn't possibly move a piece of the wall that was big enough to crush two people.

"Papa! Mama!" Karmes cried as he punched the debris hoping to break it.

The left part of his head was filled with pain as blood flowed. Finally, he gave up and passed out.

When he woke up, he was on board a boat towards the inner walls. Karmes' left eye was already treated but the wound he had in his heart wasn't.

"Papa… Mama…", he whimpered.

Tears flowed from his eye. What happened during that day would never be forgotten. The huge Titan that surpassed the wall's height and the Titan that destroyed Wall Maria brought despair to mankind. And because of them, Karmes had no people to call family and no place to call home. Accepting the harsh reality that was served to him, his will to live was lost. Despair filled his only remaining eye.

Then, he saw a young boy stand up and face the breached town they were fleeing from. Tears were also flowing from his eyes. But unlike Karmes, he wasn't swallowed by despair. Hatred was burning in his eyes.

"I'm going to destroy them… Every last one of those animals… that's on this earth!" the boy swore.

Karmes' eye brightened.

_That's right… It's their fault… If it weren't for that huge Titan, we would be living peacefully. If it weren't for that armored Titan, mama and papa would still be with me… I'll kill them! Especially that armored bastard!_ Karmes promised himself.

And so time passed…

"You are now officially members of the training unit no. 104!" a bald man with a goatee shouted.

In order to fulfill what he promised, Karmes decided to join the military. By getting stronger, he would kill the Armored Titan and finally give peace to his parents.

"Unfortunately for you, I, Keith Shadis, will be in charge. I'm not here to give you a warm welcome. All of you now are merely livestock, waiting to be eaten by Titans. You're even worse than livestock! For the next three years, I'll train you useless shits. I'll teach you how to fight Titans! When you face a Titan in 3 years, will you still be just food? Or will you become a glorious wall to protect these walls? Or a mighty champion of mankind who will destroy the Titans? The choice lies in your hands", Shadis continued.

Karmes already lost many things. His eye, his home, and his parents. But that didn't mean he should go ahead and die in a ditch. He had a Titan to kill.


	2. Chapter 2

_Year 847. I just bought this journal in order to record my life as a soldier. With this, my story would be known and my name would not be forgotten. My life as a cadet starts now and the Armored Titan is one step closer to his death._

* * *

"Line up!" Shadis commanded.

The sun didn't even rise up yet but Karmes and the other cadets were already beginning their training. One day has passed since they started and many people already quit. Physical exercise and mental attacks from Shadis were too much for them to handle.

"Today I'm going to tire you, Titan fodders, out! Run 100 laps around the camp! After that you'll have strength exercises for three hours nonstop! Anyone who gets left behind will have extra workouts waiting for them! Now move it!" the training instructor ordered.

No matter what Shadis would throw at him, Karmes wouldn't throw the towel. He was ready for anything. If it meant that he would become stronger, he would gladly go through hell. He heard someone trip and fall down. The one-eyed boy turned his head and saw a slender girl.

"Ouch…" the girl winced.

Karmes took her arm and pulled her upward.

"Don't die on me", Karmes told her and continued running.

Time passed and most of them were finished. Those who finished early would have extra time to rest which allowed Karmes to catch his breath. Shadis' training became increasingly difficult as the days passed but he had to break through it.

"Thanks for earlier", the slender girl approached him.

"Don't worry about it. If possible, I wouldn't have anyone die when I'm around", Karmes said.

"Die? Shadis wouldn't kill those who would fail. It would be too much", the girl giggled.

"We are training to fight Titans. If you trip and fall during a fight, you'll and up dying. If I were you, I wouldn't take this training so lightly"

"Oh"

A moment of silence passed between them.

"All of you line up!" Shadis shouted.

"We have to go", Karmes told her.

"Mina Carolina", the girl said.

"What?"

"My name is Mina Carolina"

"You two! Are you planning to do more drills?!" Shadis shouted at Karmes and Mina.

"I'm Karmes Damon", he introduced and ran towards his line.

When everyone were in their place, Shadis walked around and inspected their expressions. Some of them looked ready to pass out. Others could still go on. But there were people who didn't even look bothered by the drill.

"Since you maggots managed to get it this far, I'm going to give you a reward. Today you'll find out whether you're Titan fodder or not! We'll begin ODM training!" Shadis shouted.

Karmes smiled. Since Titans are taller than humans, the ODM was a gear that allows soldiers to soar through the sky and attack its weak point which was its nape. By mastering the ODM gear, Karmes would be one step closer to killing the Armored Titan.

"First, your aptitude would be tested. Those who fail are not even worthy to serve as bait. Failures will be sent to the reclaimed lands!" Shadis told everyone.

Karmes had wires strapped to his belt and he was lifted up. He had trouble at first but once he found his balance, it was easy.

_I can do it!_ he thought.

"Karmes Damon! You pass", Shadis said and moved on to the next cadet.

He returned to the ground and sighed out of relief. If he wasn't fit to use the ODM gear, he would fall to despair.

"What the hell are you doing, Eren Jaeger? Raise your upper body!" Shadis scolded a black-haired boy who was hanging upside down.

Karmes saw people holding back their laughs. He then remembered that the boy named Eren was the one who kept on talking about killing all Titans. Karmes gritted his teeth. People who were laughing at him because they were a bit more talented annoyed him.

The sun was already setting and the red-haired boy was walking around the camp. He then saw Eren being coached by a black-haired girl and a blond boy. Eren was hoisted up and like before, he lost his balance and hit his head.

Dinner time was worse. People were actually looking at Eren while trying hard not to mock or laugh at him. This irritated Karmes. He found out that Eren wanted to kill all Titans too. Having someone with the same dream as him being mocked made Karmes want to beat them up. But it was none of his business.

The bell rung signaling the end of dinner so everyone left the mess hall. Karmes saw Eren walking towards the barracks with the blond boy.

"Yo. Are you okay?" Karmes asked which surprised Eren and the blond.

"Can't you see it? I'm having a hard time on becoming a soldier. If what you saw earlier wasn't enough, then you can laugh at the bandage on my head", Eren answered in an irritated manner.

"Eren. Calm down", the blond told him and he clicked his tongue.

"Sorry. That was a dumb question", Karmes apologized.

Silence ruled.

"I heard you're from Shiganshina too", Karmes then said.

"Too? Then that means…", the blond trailed off.

"Yes. I was there too. I saw those monsters and they took everything away from me", Karmes told him as he touched his eye patch.

"If you saw those monsters, why did you still want to enlist?" Eren asked.

"We're the same. I want to kill them. Especially that armored bastard. After all, he is the reason why I'm all alone in this world", Karmes answered.

Eren and the blond became silent.

"I'm pretty sure you know how terrifying they are and yet you still want to be a soldier. I admire you for that. That's why I am hoping that you'll succeed tomorrow. After all, having a guy who wants to kill all Titans with me is reassuring", Karmes said and smiled.

"Thanks… I'm Eren Jaeger. This is Armin Arlert", Eren introduced.

"I'm Karmes Damon. Let's see each other on the battlefield", Karmes said and started to head to his barracks.

A thought entered his mind and he turned back to Eren and Armin.

"Hey. Look for the people named Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. I heard they're good. They might give you some advice", he told them.

"Reiner and Bertholdt? Got it!" Eren nodded and ran off.

"Eren! Wait up!" Armin ran off.

Karmes went back to his room to retire for the night.

Morning came and it was time for Eren's test. Everyone gathered in front of him and Shadis looked at him menacingly.

"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?" Shadis asked.

"Yes, sir!" Eren answered.

"Begin"

Eren was hoisted up and he was maintaining his balance. Everyone cheered when he finally stabilized above the ground… until he was hanging upside down again.

Shadis walked towards Eren.

"N-No… I can still…" Eren struggled.

"Let him down", Shadis commanded.

Eren fell to his knees and was on the verge of crying. Karmes just watched and felt sad. The reason why he supported Eren was because he believed that he and Eren were the same. He believed that determination was needed to free mankind from their cage. If Eren, the person who had the most determination, fails, that meant determination was nothing. Karmes clenched his fists.

"I can still…", Eren said but he had no life in his eyes left.

"Wagner, lend Jaeger your belt", Shadis ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Wagner replied.

Eren was pulled up again and he maintained his balance. Everyone including Karmes had a surprised expression.

"The equipment was faulty. The metal fittings in your belt were damaged. I've never seen damage to these parts before. I suppose we'll need to update the maintenance checklist", Shadis told them.

"So he actually succeeded… even with faulty equipment…", a cadet said.

"Wow!" another cadet exclaimed.

"S-So… what's your decision?" Eren asked.

"You're good to go. Stay resolute and train hard!", Shadis answered.

_Nice one. Looks like determination does win_, Karmes thought.

* * *

_With Eren's success, everyone was inspired. The 104__th__ Training Corps continued with the basics of the ODM gear. Shadis mentioned that there will be an exercise where we will have to use an actual ODM gear. If we do not wish to crash to a wall or splatter to the ground, we were advised to train seriously or quit while it was early. Unfortunately for him, I have no intention of quitting. Not now. Not ever._


End file.
